Background

Emerald the thief

Emerald lived in a city before being recruited by Cinder Fall. She lived day to day without a guarantee of enough food, always resorting to stealing to get by. Cinder saw her use her Semblance to steal a ring from a jeweler and asked her to come with her, guaranteeing a source of food. Cinder later recruited Mercury Black, and the three have traveled together since.

The trio first appealed to the White Fang'sAdam Taurus, proposing an alliance. However, they were turned down. But, the three were able to ambush and sap Amber of half her Maiden abilities, before retreating due to the timely intervention of Qrow Branwen.

They were able to leverage Adam into their alliance after defeating all the members in his camp. Adam was forced to accept the offer, where the three would provide him with resources, such as Dust and funding, with Emerald presenting a briefcase full of crystals, or face death if he refused.

Touring Vale

Emerald appears lost and runs into the Shopkeep of the newly reopened From Dust Till Dawn, asking for directions to a certain address. As she rounds a corner, Mercury states that he knew she was lost and she offers to pay him to be quiet using the money she stole from the shop owner. They arrive at a book store owned by a Faunus named Tukson.

Emerald begins to ask if he has certain books because of his shop's catchphrase, but she eventually asks him for a book he doesn't have. Things turn serious as Emerald reveals that she knows he is planning on running from the White Fang and that he knows why they are there. She asks him if he is planning to fight back and he shouts "Yes" before lunging at her. She ducks under him and Mercury kicks him out of the air, killing him instantly.

Emerald steals Torchwick's lighter.

Emerald and Mercury return to Roman Torchwick's base, and he questions where they were all day, taking the address from Emerald's pocket without her noticing. Emerald and Mercury confirm that they were cleaning up Roman's mess. When Roman threatens them, Cinder appears, and Emerald informs her that they killed Tukson, but Cinder seems more annoyed at their actions as it risks ruining her plan. Emerald then leaves with Cinder but shows Roman that she had managed to steal his lighter.

After the events involving Tukson, Emerald is seen with Mercury and Cinder inside Beacon Academy, the latter of whom bumps into a running Ruby Rose. Cinder helps her up but tells her to mind where she is going. She is then redirected with Mercury and Cinder by Ruby who points them in the direction of their building as transfer students.

Emerald is first seen observing a battle between Pyrrha Nikos and Team CRDL, and later Pyrrha against Mercury. Later that day, in a dorm room with Cinder and Mercury, they all begin to talk about Pyrrha's semblance, and how skilled she is, as also listening to Cinder's plan.

Emerald and Mercury oversee the dance.

During the Beacon Dance, Emerald and Mercury enter the ballroom together. From here, the duo spends the evening keeping track of the attendees, watching to see if anyone could interfere with Cinder's infiltration of the Cross Continental Transmit System Tower. At one point, Emerald warns Cinder that James Ironwood is leaving to check on the tower. However, Cinder is able to finish her task and return to the dance before he can see her. Emerald then lets Cinder take her place as Mercury's dance partner for the remainder of the evening.

During the events of "Breach", Emerald assists TeamsRWBY and JNPR in killing Grimm. She easily slays an Ursa using her weapons and is seen after the battle, smiling with Ruby. She is later present as Adam Taurus appears by Cinder's side, explaining that the Faunus will listen to him, despite numerous losses in the caves during "No Brakes".

Vytal Festival Tournament

Emerald being "friendly" with Team RWBY

At the Vytal Festival fairgrounds, Emerald steals Ruby's wallet before returning it to her. She strikes up a friendly conversation with Team RWBY, and it is revealed that she is participating in the tournament alongside Mercury, Cinder and an undercover Neo Politan. After exchanging pleasantries with Team RWBY, she turns to Mercury and expresses her distaste for all of them, telling him she cannot stand how they always seem so cheery. However, she also shares the intel they had been sent to get: Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long will be fighting in round two. Emerald, Mercury and Cinder are then seen spectating the match between Team JNPR and Team BRNZ.

Emerald is later seen at Cinder's dorm room when Mercury reports Qrow's presence at Beacon Academy. She asks Cinder if they need to change their plans, but Cinder tells them that they will stay the course. After Cinder gains access to Ironwood's Scroll, she tells Emerald and Mercury to return to their dorms. Cinder then engineers the next match of the Vytal Festival tournament doubles round: Emerald and Mercury against Coco Adel and Yatsuhashi Daichi of Team CFVY. Emerald and Mercury easily win the match.

After Mercury "loses" his match against Yang and has his leg broken by her apparently unprovoked, Emerald calls out his name and immediately rushes to his side, apparently showing concern for him. This was ultimately revealed to be an illusion created by Emerald, designed to trick Yang into attacking.

She is later seen in an unknown location, leaving Mercury behind. Cinder and Emerald head back to the Vytal Festival.

Emerald the uses her Semblance on Pyrrha.

Ruby sees Emerald in the front row of the Colosseum for the match between Pyrrha and Penny Polendina, even though Ruby was told Mercury's team all went back to Mistral the previous night. Emerald uses her Semblance to make Pyrrha hallucinate during the conflict, with the latter seeing thousands of Penny's swords, over the dozen or so there actually are. This results in Pyrrha panicking, and overusing her Semblance, causing Penny's weapons to tangle around her limbs and body, quickly tearing her apart. Soon after, Emerald leaves the grandstands of Amity Colosseum.

Attack on Beacon

Emerald is seen on a rooftop with Cinder and Mercury, expressing a hint of remorse at the destruction caused by the chaos. Suddenly, she is interrupted by the arrival of the Wyvern, as she remains on the rooftop.

After the Fall of Beacon

After the fall of Beacon, Emerald is seen present in the Land of Darkness surveying its surroundings and accompanying Cinder alongside Mercury. She acts as Cinder's voice due to the loss of her own speaking capabilities. When a Seer enters the room during Cinder's treatment, Emerald reacts to it with disgust and fear.

Mission to Haven Academy

Emerald, Mercury, Cinder and Arthur Watts arrive at Raven Branwen'sbandit camp under orders from Salem to convince them to cooperate with plans. They tell Raven to bring Vernal as the Spring Maiden to Haven Academy to unlock its Relic's chamber. After negotiations, Emerald and the group return to a ship where they take rest.

Attack on Haven

Emerald and Mercury overpower Yang.

Emerald accompanies Cinder as she leads the assault at Haven and later stops Ruby from helping Jaune. As they fight, Emerald reveals to Ruby that she does not care for working for Salem, but owes Cinder everything. When Ruby unleashes her powers to stop Cinder from harming Jaune, Emerald quickly knocks her out, though Cinder has been already been affected by the power. Later, when Yang attempts to stop Cinder from reaching the vault, Emerald and Mercury prevent her from doing so with the former casting hallucinations of the latter onto Yang. Throughout the fight, the pair have the upper hand with Emerald casting a hallucination of Raven and Mercury following up with a surprise attack. But before she can finish Yang off, Emerald is forced back by Ruby. After the four of them fight, Emerald and Mercury try to stop Yang from going down to the vault, but to no avail.

Emerald is devastated by Cinder's apparent death.

Emerald and Mercury continue fighting alongside Hazel until they are left exhausted by the combined efforts of Ruby, Blake, and Weiss. Defiant to the end, Emerald insists that Cinder will return with the Relic and stop all of them, only to witness Yang return from the vault alone with the Relic. Devastated by Cinder's apparent defeat, Emerald drops to her knees and sheds tears over the loss of her master. She then screams in agony as she unleashes a terrifying illusion of Salem that overtaxes her Semblance and causes her to pass out. The distraction allows Mercury and Hazel to retreat, with Hazel carrying an unconscious Emerald over his shoulder.

After the Attack on Haven

Emerald is pressured by Salem.

One month after the Battle of Haven, Emerald's image is shown on a newscast as one of the perpetrators of the attack on the academy. Arriving back at Salem's palace, Emerald is easily irritated by Tyrian Callows when he mocks Cinder. She lashes back at the Faunus only for him to remind her that she no longer has her master for protection. Later, Emerald is forced by an intimidating and angered Salem to admit that Cinder is the one responsible for the defeat back in Haven. She and Mercury are later shocked when they learn from Salem that Cinder is alive, but Salem states that she cannot return until she redeems herself. After Hazel reveals that Ozpin is having the Relic of Knowledge taken to Atlas, all of Salem's subordinates are ordered to leave the room. As the doors are about to close, Emerald looks back in horror at Salem who is about to unleash her rage.

Emerald attacks Mercury.

Some time later, Emerald asks Mercury why he joined Cinder on the night they find him, only to find his answer vague that it was because of his assassin skills. Dissatisfied, Emerald questions why they are with Salem as she considers Cinder the only family she ever had and feels lost without her master. But she is angered when Mercury blatantly tells her that Cinder never cared for either of them and that she is having an "identity crisis", causing her to attack her partner. After an exchange of blows, the pair is confronted by Tyrian, who mocks them for not loving what they are doing. Emerald asks sarcastically if they should just leave, to which the Faunus mockingly says no. The pair then learns that Tyrian and Watts are leaving for Atlas by Salem's order. Before Emerald can find out why, the Faunus is called away by the doctor, leaving the pair to look on with disgust. Later, Emerald finds Mercury at the meeting chamber. She tries to apologize to Mercury, but notices the horrified look on his face and finds Salem outside creating Beringels with wings. Hazel then explains to the two with an old saying about someone should do it themselves if they want something done right.